Following the Path of the Ancient Ones: Part II

When I woke up on the morning of Sunday, July 1^st, I couldn’t believe that we were in Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado! We got through all of our Utah stuff in ONE DAY! Who would have thought?!

[Josh at out Mesa Verde Camp]

 

[Camping food] 

[All set up] 

We spent the whole day exploring the Eastern Side of the park.

First stop: Balcony House.

  

This was one crazy site! Well, the site itself wasn’t too crazy but access was not what I expected. We had to hike down metal and rock steps, walk a long path along the cliff edge, and then climb a 32-foot ladder just to get into the site!

The climb was a little scary but definitely worth it. Once inside the site we were able to explore the area and learn a lot from our ranger guide.

[Kiva] 

In order to get out of the site and back onto the ridge top we had to crawl through an ancient tunnel (built during the exodus), climb up more ladders, and climb a steep rock face that had hand-and-toe-holds.

[The tunnel]

[Hand-and-toe holds with chains] 

Next, we headed over to the largest site in the Northwestern Hemisphere: Cliff Palace.

This pueblo has ~150 rooms and 23 kivas (subterranean rooms that were used for religious or ceremonial rituals)!  The site was breathtaking! Even as I was standing there looking at it, I couldn’t believe it was real!

[I LOVE IT!] 

Access in and out of this site was a little easier. We had to hike down a steep staircase and paved path to get into the site.

The tour took us across the site where we learned even more about the Ancestral Puebloans.

The trip out consisted of two small ladders, but it was still steep!

[T-Shaped doors - Chacoan Design] 

[One of the many Kivas] 

The rest of the day we spent visiting other sites and hiking around the park.

[Spruce Tree House]

[Hike to the Petroglyphs]

 [Petroglyphs, which tell the story of the great Exodus]

  

 [Square Tower Site]

[Pit House - the Ancestral Puebloans lived in these small, subterranean structures on top of the mesa's before moving into the cliffs]

[Reconstructed Pit House]

The next day (July 2nd), Josh and I got up early, ate a delicious breakfast, and then headed to the Western side of the park.

Today, we went and saw the SECOND largest site in the Northwestern Hemisphere: Long House.

[Granary located high up in the cliffs above the dwellings]

  

[Small hand print below the Granary]

After exploring Long House we took a tram ride around the area. It was nice and very relaxing. We were told about all the fires that had happened in the park since it was founded and how it will take over 300 years for the landscape to completely re-grow. We also learned that there is somewhere between 5,000-10,000 archaeological sites (including the 600 cliff dwellings) within the park boundaries! It's amazing that so many people lived here and that this area was used for so long!

One of the stops on our tour took us to the Step House.

[Petroglyphs at Step House] 

[Kiva] 

 This concluded our time exploring Mesa Verde. We stayed in the park for another night and saw more ruins in the area before heading to New Mexico. Stay tuned for Part III!

To be honest, I was really bummed that we were done with Mesa Verde. It was everything I thought it would be and I didn't want to leave BUT I was excited to move on to see some new locations!

Following the Path of the Ancient Ones: Part I

I’ve been living in Utah for over 9 years and I knew that if I ever left without seeing the Southwest I would never forgive myself. So when I hit my three-year mark at my company and got extra “paid time off” hours (PTO) I figured I better use it.

Josh and I made a list of places that we wanted to see on the trip (13 to be exact) but we made no reservations or set-in-stone-plans.  We rented a nice SUV and packed for anything and everything (camping, hotel staying, etc.).

[Josh and the rental]

[Getting the show on the road]

We headed out to Blanding, Utah on Friday, June 29^th.  I had to work a full day in the field so we got a late start and ended up getting to our hotel a little after midnight.

[Road to Blanding]

The next morning we got up early and headed to the first place on our list: Edge of the Cedars Museum.

[Artifacts in the Museum] 

[The Pueblo]

[Me climbing down into the structure]

After seeing what would be the first of MANY ancient puebloan sites, we headed to something more natural: Natural Bridges National Park.

However, on our way over to the park we got distracted by the Bulter Wash Ruins, which are located in the famous Comb Ridge (a 120 mile long monocline).

We did the short hike to the overlook and stood in awe at the cliff dwellings and the amazing geographic feature they were lying in.

[If you look closely you can see ruins in the three upper shelters]

[Close ups]

We left the site and headed towards our original destination: Natural Bridges. 

The park is small and consists of a loop that you can drive and then do short walks to see the bridges and a cliff dwelling ruin.  

[Sipapu Bridge]

[Scenic hike to Horse Collar Ruin] 

[Horse Collar Ruin]

[Kachina Bridge]

[Me and Owachomo Bridge] 

After seeing the bridges, we headed south on a scenic drive. We had no idea what we were looking for or heading to so we just drove. While looking at my map I saw something called the “Valley of the Gods”. Should we go find it? Sure! Why not?!

All of a sudden the nice paved road we were driving on turned to dirt and there were flashing signs warning us to slow down. Then we saw this:

It was a huge 1200 foot drop from the mesa top to the valley floor so we took it slow and enjoyed the desert view.

When we arrived in the valley, we followed signs and found the “Gods” (isolated mesas and cliffs).

We drove the dirt trail through the valley and got a lot of pictures from the car since is was so hot!

  

[Hot as Hades!]

I was amazed at how much we had seen in one day so I proposed to Josh that we leave Utah behind and head over towards the Colorado border…. Maybe spend the night at our next destination… or not…

We turned towards the east and headed to our next listed destination: Hovenweep National Monument.

We followed our atlas, arrived at the park, talked to the rangers at the visitor center, and then headed into the site.

The trail loop was short, but hot! We hiked along the ridge tops and took in what lay in ruin before us.

[Twin Towers]

[Eroded Boulder House]

[Unit Type House]

[Rim Rock House and Eroded Boulder House]

[Hovenweep Castle] 

 Little is know about Hovenweep as no archaeological excavations have been conducted. There are speculations, of course,  but nothing has been truly investigated. The area was not inhabited very long and the towers are large and unique. This place blew my mind!

After exploring the ruins, we headed to Mesa Verde Colorado where we spend the next three nights camping in the park.

Another Scenic Drive

Josh and I like to drive around and explore new places. We just drive and see where we end up. It's nice and really relaxing.

On June 24, Josh and I headed north on I-15. We got off at Beaver and headed east up Beaver Canyon. 

We soon intersected a "Detour" sign which took us on a dirt road which lead up into the mountains. High into the mountains. 

On this road we saw cute cabins and a lot of high mountain lakes. It was gorgeous!

After 20 miles or so, we met back up with the original road and continued east.

We eventually hit a small town called Junction. From here we headed north on the UT-89 and stopped at Piute Reservoir.

After seeing the reservoir, we headed south on the 89 (back pass Junction) and down towards Panguitch. 

At Panguitch we jumped on the UT-143 and headed back west towards home. On this road we passed the beautiful Panguitch Lake, Cedar Breaks, and even saw some sheep!

 It was during this drive that Josh and I decided I would take a week off of work so we could go on a legendary road trip! We talked about where we would go and what we would see. Stay turned for post about our Southwest/4 Corners trip!